Excellent Sources of Complex Carbohydrates

Complex carbohydrate foods are basically those in wholegrain form such as wholegrain breads, oats, muesli and brown rice. Complex carbs are broken down into glucose more slowly than simple carbohydrates and thus provide a gradual steady stream of energy throughout the day. Natural carbs are also a better choice when losing weight on the GI diet plan.
All carbohydrates are broken down to glucose to produce the energy molecule ATP (adenosinetriphosphate). The efficiency of this whole process also depends on many vitamins and minerals. Most natural, complex carbohydrate sources such as those listed in the table below naturally provide many of the vitamins and minerals needed for energy production.
Simple, refined carbs found in many processed, convenient foods tend to be devoid of these natural nutrients, therefore there is a greater risk that some of the energy will be converted into fat and stored. This is often the case even if the calorie content of the simple carb is lower than the calories in the complex carbohydrate source. Natural complex carbs are often devoid of additives and preservatives unlike many processed simple carb sources.
The food list below shows natural complex carbohydrate foods from grains that are frequently used to produce food products or meals. Products that contain a large portion of these staple ingredients are usually a good high complex carbohydrate source, see the second list. Still, the best way to provide your diet with complex carbohydrates is to consume foods in their most natural state such as oatmeal, bran and brown rice.

Be aware though that while a product, like corn flakes cereals, contains cornmeal, high amounts of sugar and fats maybe added to increase the taste, but destroy the nutritional value.
Weight loss progress often slows due to a lowered metabolism. Increase metabolism before cutting calories and verylow calorie diets wont be necessary.
A good complex carbohydrate intake is essential to exercise effectively and make each workout more effective in losing body fat!
ReferencesUSDA National Nutrient Database